STRONGSVILLE, Ohio — Driving along any road or highway is getting to be very bumpy.
Potholes are showing up all over Northeast Ohio. Hit the wrong one, and you could be headed to the mechanic.
Mike Munger is the owner of the Rad Air in Strongsville, and says he is seeing more and more busted-out tires. One driver even hit a huge pothole during last week's snowstorm.
"It was coming down the road and it hit a chuck hole and blew the tire out," Munger described. "The control arm was almost broken right in half."
To make matters worse, the car owner had just bought the tire brand new. Unfortunately, Munger could not fix it.
"The rim cut into it," he noted.
The very expensive bill for one tire and one pothole? $1,500. Everything that could go wrong did.
Things like alignment problems and shock and strut issues can cause your frame to be badly be damaged, but in most cases, you get a flat tire from a mere puncture. If you think you have pothole problems, look for tire bulges and bubbles, a bent rim, inability to hold a steady car, shaking or vibrating, or strange noises.
Mike says this is the time of year when the pavement expands due to freezing roads. He feels bad when he has to bill a driver for hitting a pothole, and even hit one himself this week.
"Try and swerve and avoid it if you can," he advised, "but sometimes, you can't avoid it."